Teachings, from the Merkavah (Chariot) Riders and their journeys to the starry Palaces (Hekelot) of the invisible world, to Traveling in Spirit Visions with the early adepts of The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn in the 19th and early 20th centuries. While a wide variety of approaches have been formulated to assist the disciples of these diverse schools, many of their techniques require extensive preparatory instruction and/or ritual assistance…
Theoretical Background
The theoretical background behind this experiment is strictly kabbalistic. It applies to either the traditional Tree of Life (Golden Dawn), the revised Tree of Life as applied to the Portae Lucis material, or the Palaces as outlined in the Sepher Zohar. In short, any systematic outline of the interior body-world of humanity can be applied, provided it features concise, easy-to-visualize symbols for the various planes of consciousness.
The working assumption is that we as conscious beings originate in the Ain Soph Aur, or Limitless Mind of God. We incarnate through various stages of increasing density and matter into the present world in order to gain the experiences that will allow us to go from ‘potential beings’ into Self-Actualized, or Self-Created Beings. In our journey of development, we take on characteristics and ‘bodies’ of various vibrations, and on our ‘return’ we shed these bodies in exchange for increasingly subtle bodies and worlds of Light. These Worlds are categorized in the Gnostic, Kabbalistic, Hermetic, and Alchemical texts under different names and numbers, but share the same essential qualities and functions overall. That is, they go from the most dense world of material Earth to the most subtle of Infinity, or the point of our origin, the Mind of the Creator.
Centers of Perception
Within our physical body, we have various organs of psychic perception, referred to in modern Western esoteric nomenclature as psycho-spiritual centers and in Sanskrit as chakras. These centers correspond to several levels of our physiology, specifically our nervous system and plexus, as well as our endocrine system, which comprises hormone-secreting glands. Other correspondences also exist, but for our purposes, these are the ones used most commonly and efficiently.
Astral projection is often suggested through the solar plexus, but for many, this can be an unnerving and unsettling experience. Other suggestions are purely visual, such as rising from your body like a mist or having a second ‘body of light’ alongside your physical one. It is said that advanced practitioners can project their consciousness at the time of their death through the upper centers, thus ‘dying consciously’. The centers suggested here are located at the top and front of the head, specifically the “Crown” and “Third Eye” centers, which are associated with the pineal and pituitary glands. Some even use the back of the head, specifically the medulla oblongata (the brainstem).
In Indian texts, each chakra is associated with a particular power (siddha), which is awakened in the aspirant, allowing the student to project their consciousness through the different psychic centers in increasing complexity and subtlety, until finally, the Crown is reached.
In kabbalistic practices, however, the centers are rarely used in this way. Instead, intense visualization of the ethereal Worlds is used until they are progressively realized, or rituals are combined with more generalized energizing of the psychic body, alone or in conjunction with these visualized worlds. The modern variation of this often involves the use of Tarot cards, and is called Pathworking, or the use of Hebrew letters. Eastern Orthodox monks have employed intense visualization of the solar plexus, represented as a small sun, as a method of achieving exteriorization. Some schools use the heart as a center of displacement; however, the previously mentioned methods are the most commonly used to date.
Alchemists use tinctures, or medicines, to assist in projecting consciousness. However, these should not be confused with hallucinogenic or psychoactive drugs. The effects of alchemical medicines typically occur when their user is relaxed, sleeping, or in a state of meditation. They, in effect, assist the projection of consciousness, that is, the expansion of awareness, rather than induce or cause it directly. It is possible to take an alchemical medicine and drive a car unimpeded.
In Eastern traditions, the number of psychic centers attributed to the body varies by school. In general, it is said that we have at least seven major and five minor psychic centers. Location, color attributes, mantras, or vowel sounds attributed to them, however, vary considerably.
Daath and the Throat Center
According to Sri Aurobindo, the throat center is associated with the externalization of mental forces and serves as a link between the higher and lower mental spheres. Similar to some color scales in kabbalah, grey is associated with this center. In Serpent of Fire: A Modern View of Kundalini, Darrel Irving points out that the Vissudha chakra is presided over by the dual deities of Shakini and Shiva. Each is five-faced, representing the five Elements, and three eyes, showing physical and psychic perception, or is androgynous, half white and half gold. The center is associated with the purification of intelligence, the psychic substratum or ether (akasha), and hearing. The color given is smoky-purple. As with Sri Aurobindo’s color, purple is also sometimes given as associated with the throat center in modern kabbalistic works.
Along with the remaining upper two psychic centers, these three constitute the only centers where direct psychic perception is possible.
In the West, the Throat center is less well-defined, although it shares all the characteristics mentioned earlier. In Kabbalah of the Golden Dawn, Pat Zalewski states that the throat center is associated with the thyroid gland and controls respiration. As with yoga, each of the preceding centers is related to an Element: Earth, Water, Fire, and Air. While not explicitly stated, it may be presumed that the Throat center is then the first center associated with Spirit, or Quintessence, as in yoga.
Here, however, we run into a problem regarding the attributes associated with this area. In alchemy, the throat is ruled by Mercury, the god of Air, as well as magic, voice, and initiation. In the systems generally used (i.e., Golden Dawn), no planetary attribute is given to the throat. Instead, it is the Sephirothic realm of Daath that presides over this region.
Daath is Hebrew for ‘knowledge’, and maybe that is the best attribute for things associated with the mind, speech, and magic. However, for many kabbalists, Daath is a region better left alone and feared more than the so-called Qlippoth, or Demonic realms. How did Daath come to be seen with such awe? Mostly from second-hand reports of book-learned occultists repeating what they read. If we keep in mind that Daath is Knowledge, some interesting correlations can be drawn.
Isreal Regardie states:
“This central point between two symbolic pillars of the opposites, the place of balanced power from which the working of the opposites may correctly be viewed, is the implication of DAAS {Daath}, which is the name of this shadowy Sephirah. Rightly it is shadowy, and the word is used advisedly for in the majority of us who have not cultivated the difficult art of avoiding the opposites, the development of this new principle has proceeded with the utmost slowness…”
And further on:
“DAAS (sic), the shadowy Sephirah… is situated at the nape of the neck… and its diameter may be imagined to be about four inches in extent. It is conceived to be a symbolic link, self-induced, and self-devised, between the higher Genius on the one hand, and on the other, the ego…”
Regardie also refers to Daath as “The Link” between the Higher Self and the ego, or waking brain.
Mercury, Hermes, and the Psychopomp
Knight suggests using the caduceus, a symbol of the god Mercury, and the psychopomp Hermes as a symbol for approaching Daath. This relationship of the Throat Center to Mercury must not be overlooked, for it is this very relationship that we are seeking to establish within ourselves. To be able to enter into the psychic realms with the aid and assistance of our Higher Genius, as well as our human intellect, and to make use of the information upon return to waking consciousness. We want, in effect, to do as Hermes does, “Walk Between Two Worlds,” and unite them within our psyche.
The symbol for Mercury is the stylized caduceus, which combines the symbols of Luna (the Moon), Sol (the Sun), and Terra (Earth). Combined, they state the function of this part of our psychic anatomy. The upturned lunar symbol represents our brain, nervous system, and psychic functioning, resting upon the Solar symbol beneath. The Sun is our spiritual power, life force, and intuition. It sits astride the symbol for matter, or the equal-armed cross. The Cross of the Four Elements is a symbol of material existence, representing both our physical bodies and the material world we inhabit.
In the symbol for Mercury, we see that the terrestrial energies, or matter, are dominated by the Solar forces of the Sun and the Soul. However, these spiritual forces are, in turn, dominated by the intellect and physical brain of man. That is, the brain directs them, or represses them, depending on the spiritual health of the aspirant.
As a messenger of the gods, Mercury assists in the transfer of knowledge, rather than in its creation or interpretation; these functions are left to the brain and psychic heart. The heart is the seat of intuition, the Voice of the Soul, and the Interior Master; only through its awakening can we become conscious and free beings. However, the energy of the awakened heart, with all of its love, must be transferred to the physical brain for insight and understanding. In doing so, it requires the assistance of the Throat Center. Once in the brain, the energy must also be able to return to the heart, or send information there for spiritual consideration, via the Mercurial Center.
Herein lies some confusion for some folks. It is said that the heart is the center of intuition, yet it is in the pituitary body of the physical brain that intuition is realized in mundane consciousness. Is it not possible to awaken the pituitary body without the needed functions of the psychic heart?
The answer is yes. To understand this somewhat confusing relationship between the heart and the pituitary gland and our spiritual awakening, we need to realize that, according to esoteric tradition, both organs are Solar in nature and, as such, affected by the material and spiritual Sun. Just as the pituitary gland reacts to light physical light, it also reacts to the awakening of the spiritual light caused by an awakened Heart – a Heart filled with love. The brain, in general, is Lunar, but certain aspects respond to other planetary influences in their specific functions.
This need to awaken both the heart and brain is what is required for travels through the psychic realms. An awakened heart with no brain is subject to an extreme lack of practicality, and a brain with no heart can function psychologically, but only in a cold and detached manner. The ‘thinking heart’ and ‘feeling brain’ are what Mercury helps us to establish. In doing so, the polarity is overcome through union, and the material and remaining psychic forces of our body are harmoniously brought into play.
The use of blues and purples is said to show the relationship between Daath and the ideas of a Higher Mind (Blue/Chesed) and Yesod (Purple). Thus, the Daath, or sphere of Knowledge that we are contacting through our meditations, is our personal one, and not that of the transpersonal or Cosmic Daath on the Tree of Life, of which so many dangers have been written and attributed.
It is also the synthesis of the Supernal Upper Trinity in a form we can more easily approach and understand.
Also, if Yesod, or the gateway and principle sphere of the astral realm is a reflection of Daath “on a lower arch” as our British fraters and sorors are so fond of saying, then meditations on the “Daath” sphere in ourselves should not only sublimate the sexual creative powers of Yesod, but also allow us to enter into astral consciousness more fully and completely.
Some Additional Thoughts From the East
In Chinese and Mongolian Chi Kung, meditation on the throat center is used precisely for these purposes: (1) sublimation of the sexual force, and (2) assisting in the conscious projection of consciousness and the induction of lucid dreaming. It is the connecting center between the heart and the brain.
“Taoists who practice Dream Yoga focus on the throat point when going to sleep to consciously cross the bridge between the waking state and the dream state. Being able to dream lucidly helps one gain greater control of one’s Chi (internal energy) and also enables one to bridge the gap between life and death consciously.”
Conscious dreaming is used to awaken the “Seventy-Two Magical Abilities” to prepare them for eventual transfer to the waking, material world. This is an interesting number, as it matches the number of permutations of the “Great Name” of God, or Schemhamphoresch. Theoretically, each of these Names, Signs, Seals, and correspondences could be awakened using the technique outlined in this article.
As in India and Western techniques, the throat is associated with air, spirit energy, and consciousness in Taoist practices.
The Technique to achieve Astral Projection
The Philosophers of Nature suggest three methods of projecting consciousness: mental, astral, and ethereal projection.
The first technique suggests using the Throat center for projection, and states that the dis-alignment of the physical and psychic bodies will occur at the level of the neck. This basic idea serves as the foundation for the following experiment.
To present the subconscious with an orderly supply of symbols in a coherent and meaningful manner, either the Hindu Tattwas, Alchemical Elements, or Kerubic Signs can be employed initially. Afterward, the planetary signs of the seven principal planets are used in their place. This progressive use of the same symbols enables the subconscious to recognize them as meaningful and as the official means of transferring consciousness from one level to another.
If done repeatedly, the symbols will eventually become unnecessary. If done with a good heart and mind, one may potentially realize their ‘interior level’ during one of the dream states provoked.
While full-scale astral projection may not immediately occur, the degree of lucid dreaming, dream memory, and even a limited increase in one’s ‘magical voice’ will be experienced. It is up to each aspirant to make the most of these ‘out-of-body’ dream states and increase their level of intensity to realize full and controlled projection of consciousness.
Unlike other methods of projection, through regular practice the process outlined here will, in most cases, work gently and progressively: increased dreaming, then lucid dreaming, and finally astral projection, thus allowing for the acclimation of consciousness to these new states of being.
Step One
Obtain a set of symbols for the Four Elements and Spirit, and the Seven Planetary Signs. Start with Earth, then progress to Water, Air, Fire, and Spirit as the days proceed. The basic procedure will not change, only the symbols used to attain projection. Therefore, it is best to use symbols that are easily visualized, such as those in gold, phosphorescent white, or their complementary colors.
Step Two
When going to sleep, or even just relaxing for a few minutes, turn your attention to the area of your ‘Adam’s Apple’ and imagine a brilliant blue-black (or indigo/ultraviolet) sphere there, about the size of a tennis ball. Make it brilliant and translucent, as though it were illuminated from the inside, with its center point around the thyroid gland. It should be large enough also to touch the back of the nape of the neck, and if done very large (as Regardie suggests), it may even have its farthest edges at the bridge of the nose and brushing the thymus gland, or heart. What is essential here is that the image is three-dimensional, and not just a flat part of your head. Your imagination is internally directed. It is all right to imagine the organs mentioned if it aids visualization; otherwise, stick with the bright, translucent color and imagine that this is all there is —lose yourself in it. Place yourself at its center, and look around at an infinity of singular colors, slightly different shades and hues.
Step Three
After achieving familiarity with the first step and being able to enter the indigo sphere at will, and feel comfortable there, imagine your chosen symbol for Earth present with you. See it brilliantly and before you, with the qualities of Earth present, that is heaviness, and density, and stay with the symbol for a while, or until you fall asleep. Do this for 1 to 5 to 7 days, then move on to the remaining symbols. After you have completed all of the Elements, including Spirit, proceed to the Planetary symbols.
Step Four
With the planetary symbols, you have several choices on how to approach. First, you can move through them, starting with Luna, and progressing up the Tree of Life. Second, you can begin with Saturn and progress down. Third, you can alternate through them according to the ruling planet of the day. Since it is desirable to spend several cycles on each symbol, the Third method offers the easiest and least tedious way to work through them without worrying about breaking off in the middle and having to start that symbol over again.
Note your experiences in your daily notebook and see if any connections exist from week to week between the symbols of each planet. It is desirable to spend at least five to seven cycles with each planetary symbol, or between six and seven weeks working with them as you fall asleep. This, combined with the previous four or five weeks of working with the Elements, totals ten to twelve weeks of nightly work. Upon rising in the morning, a minute or two can also be spent visualizing the symbol of that day as well, as long as you don’t fall back to sleep!
Those wishing to supply information regarding their experiences to the ORA Project may do so by sending a copy of their notes after the completion of the exercise to Mark Stavish, M.A., ORA Project, Philosophers of Nature, P.O. Box 2920, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania 18703-2920. Materials cannot be returned and will be entered into PON’s research files for future reference. Please include a brief biographical sketch regarding your esoteric background, with particular emphasis on kabbalah, alchemy, and ritual magic, if applicable.
ORA is the Occult Research and Application Project, designed to discover new applications for existing Hermetic knowledge, as well as recreate and examine traditional knowledge and techniques for use in the contemporary world.